Do you really need portfolio diversification?...Everyone assumes that broad asset class portfolio diversification is advantageous...[as it] reduces the risk associated with events that can trigger a decline in any one asset class...[and makes] financial planning more reliable and predictable by reducing the variations in portfolio performance from year to year. Simply put, portfolio diversification is a sound investment practice but, [that said,] exactly how much risk reduction, in actual numbers, is obtained through application of this philosophy? [Bottom line, is] asset class diversification all that it’s cracked up to be? This article...addresses...the benefits of diversification among various classes.

Whenever some financial “pundit” says that the best way to get into a stock is by averaging down, we sometimes cringe. Why? Because, at best, you’ll be getting into a stock at a lower average price...but more importantly, you can be getting into a stock that’s poised to sink much, much lower and that’s a risk no one wants to take.

Using beta to build a portfolio is a smart and easy thing to do. All you have to do is make sure you understand your risk tolerance and not build a portfolio that is overweight in one sector of the stock market...

Overall, the market was due for a pullback. It seemed like every trading day in January, the market was only rising so it is only natural that, eventually, the market was going to fall but it’s just that many didn’t think this type of volatility was going to happen so soon. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Many of us think Wall Street is using sophisticated tools to make money. It is...but big Wall Street firms also use simple tools to make money. One tool many large firms use is the advance-decline line.

What do you do with your losing stocks? Unfortunately, many of us probably hold onto them, afraid to admit our failure with the hope that one-day they’ll come back. In this article, I’ll try to explain why it might make sense to sell them.

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